At a Glance (China Coffee Network): As latte art, pour-over, and other coffee competitions become increasingly familiar to the public, a more niche, more professionally demanding world-class coffee blending competit…
As latte art, pour-over, and other coffee competitions become increasingly familiar to the public, a more niche, more professionally demanding world-class coffee blending competition is taking root in Huairou.
On September 29, the WCBC World Coffee Blending Masters Competition selection round was held in Yangsong Town. Going forward, the event will permanently host its selection rounds in Huairou, building a platform for domestic and international coffee-industry exchange, technical know-how sharing, and creative co-creation, thereby upgrading Huairou’s rural coffee industry.
At the competition venue, the aroma of coffee filled the air as nine coffee beans from Africa, Asia, and the Americas were neatly displayed. Holding cupping spoons, the contestants sipped and savored carefully, discerning acidity and flavor layers to capture each bean’s strengths and weaknesses. Impressions of aroma, acidity, sweetness, and aftertaste were recorded one by one, and the initial blending direction and ratios gradually took shape on the blending plan sheet.
After cupping came the blending stage. Following their blending plans, contestants selected combinations of different origins and flavor profiles from the nine beans, blending them by the proportions of base and supporting notes, and of front and finish. Some emphasized bright fruity acidity, others pursued a rich and balanced body, and still others sought a more layered aftertaste. Consulting their plans, they weighed, tested, and adjusted, turning sensory experience into concrete recipes.
At the workstations, contestants bent over to take notes and exchanged quiet words, seeking the optimal balance of sweetness-and-acidity, body, and aftertaste through round after round of fine-tuning.
Wu Yang, co-founder of the WCBC World Coffee Blending Masters Competition, explained: ‘The Blending Masters Competition tests not latte-art skills or pour-over technique, but the four core competencies of a barista—sensory evaluation, bean knowledge, flavor composition, and creative creation. It challenges contestants to read the terroir characteristics of coffee beans from different growing regions around the world, precisely discern flavor quality, balance the layers of taste, and use professional blending logic to create entirely new, signature coffee flavors.’
The arena is both a competitive stage and a platform for exchange. Contestants bonded through the competition, delving into the flavor traits of beans from different regions, innovative blending ideas, and taste-optimization techniques, unlocking creative inspiration through the clash of ideas. Xiao Yaoyao, owner of Zhuzhu Farm · Coffee, a local Huairou village café, said: ‘This competition blends multiple beans together—more ways to play, greater room for creativity. Just as our farm has tried fusing Huairou’s local honeysuckle with Americano, blended coffee can spark more unique flavors and bring new ideas to our own R&D.’
A world-class competition’s selection round taking root in Huairou is the clearest proof of the strength of our district’s rural coffee industry and the integrated development of agriculture, culture, and tourism. Today, Huairou’s rural coffee industry has formed a mature atmosphere; many village cafés have dug deep into local character, blending Huairou specialties such as chestnuts, hawthorns, and red sha pear into coffee R&D, achieving a two-way fusion of wild mountain flavors and specialty coffee, and cultivating a rich consumer scene and innovation ecosystem.
‘Huairou boasts profound rural cultural heritage, beautiful mountain-and-wild scenery, and quality homestay resources. With a steady stream of visitors year-round and a strong culture-and-tourism atmosphere, it is perfectly suited to showcase the unique character of the World Coffee Blending Masters Competition. We hope even more to empower through the event, raising the level of local coffee service and creating a better living experience for everyone,’ said Wu Yang.
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Please credit the source when reprinting: Beijing Huairou official WeChat account.
Text by: Cao Yanhu
Editor: Wei Runjia
Source: Beijing Huairou
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